Jets: Now more than a half-century removed from their lone championship, they've been prominent free agent players many times before ... with no hardware to show for it. This may be GM Mike Maccagnan's last opportunity to take a big swing at a solution, and he paid handsomely for ILB C.J. Mosley (5 years, $85 million) and slot WR Jamison Crowder (3 years, $28.5 million) but added RB Le'Veon Bell (4 years, $52.5 million) and G Kelechi Osemele (swap of Day 3 draft picks with Oakland) at reasonable cost.

The slot: NFL defenses have spent about 70 percent of their time in the nickel package (five defensive backs) for years, even while many league observers still obsess over the distinction of 4-3 and 3-4 fronts as it pertains to base defenses. Simultaneously, most offenses predominantly deploy three wide receivers. Despite this, it's taken a while for No. 3 receivers and nickel backs to be regarded as starters. However that's apparently changing. Slot receivers Crowder and Adam Humphries (Titans) came in just shy of averaging eight figures per season while Cole Beasley (Bills) will get $7.3 million per year over the next four. On the flip side, Justin Coleman (Lions), Tavon Young (Ravens) and Denver's Jackson and Bryce Callahan — all of these defensive backs predominantly make their living matched up against inside receivers — are also earning serious financial compensation for their unique skill sets.

Packers fans: So welcome to free agency ... what do you think? Things have clearly changed under new-ish GM Brian Gutekunst, who's obviously willing to open the checkbook in a way predecessor Ted Thompson wouldn't (though we're still not sure about four years and $28 million for G Billy Turner, Bri). Amos and OLBs Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith are all excellent, if underrated, players — which Green Bay fans quickly deduced given their trio of four-year contracts total $154 million.

New Jag:Nick Foles pulled down $88 million over four years, vaulting him into the top 10 among quarterbacks in terms of total value (ahead of Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger and many others). Quite a coup for Foles given there didn't appear to be a robust demand for him outside of northern Florida.

Old Jags: DT Malik Jackson (3 years, $30 million from Philadelphia), S Tashaun Gipson (3 years, $22.6 million from Houston) and OLB Dante Fowler (1 year, $12 million from the Rams) all landed on their feet after being prematurely shown the door in Jacksonville over the past six months.

Josh Allen: The Bills didn't go after blue chippers, but they did reinforce the offensive line in front of their second-year passer, notably adding C Mitch Morse, while giving him a short-range target in Beasley and a home run threat by snatching speedy WR John "Smokey" Brown.

Josh Allen: Not a whole lot of premium pass rushes on the market, especially to desperate teams like Oakland, so the Kentucky star still appears like a virtual top-five lock in next month's draft.

Raiders: They may not be ready to dethrone the Chiefs in the AFC West just yet, but WR Antonio Brown, OT Trent Brown, WR Tyrell Williams and Joyner should immediately restore the Silver & Black to relevance. And given new GM Mike Mayock didn't have to surrender any of the four picks he owns in this draft's top 35 selections in order to pry Brown out of Pittsburgh, there's still plenty of talent yet to arrive in Oakland this year.

Kwon Alexander's agents: Rosenhaus Sports somehow got the 49ers to pony up a four-year, $54 million deal for a one-time Pro Bowl inside linebacker who tore his ACL last October. San Francisco has an escape hatch for 2020 if Alexander doesn't rebound physically, but it still feels like he came out on the winning end of this negotiation.

Steelers ... in the long run: The Antonio Brown situation had become untenable. And history will show Pittsburgh tried to give Bell a deal above market value in 2018, not lowball him while seeking some hometown discount. The organizational compass — it points to continuity, loyalty, principled dealings and the like — remains true and should keep a flagship franchise largely contending as long as the Rooneys rule.

LOSERS

Steelers ... in the short run: A club that failed to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2013 appears further weakened and will be hard pressed to overtake the Ravens and Browns in this division, much less battle the Patriots for AFC supremacy. Roethlisberger's window should be open for a few more years, but no Lombardi Trophy will be passing through it after this season.

Le'Veon Bell: Was $35 million in guaranteed cheddar nice relative to his rather dispensable position? OK, sure. Did he get a better deal than the five-year, $70 million pact the Steelers offered last year, per reports? Almost certainly not. Did he "extend" his career by taking a year off? Dubious assumption, especially given he'll surely absorb far more punishment with the Jets than he would have in a timeshare with Pittsburgh's bruising James Conner. Not buying the spin no matter what Team Bell tries to sell. When you gamble, oftentimes you're going to lose. Sorry, Le'Veon ... maybe you should've spent 2018 turning yourself into a strong safety or inside linebacker.

Running backs: We're a long way from the days when Adrian Peterson commanded offers in the $100 million range. Bell was hardly the only one to serve as a reminder to "Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be tailbacks." They're hardly destitute, but it was shocking to see how little Mark Ingram (3 years, $15 million), Latavius Murray (4 years, $14.4 million), Tevin Coleman (2 years, $8.5 million), Carlos Hyde (1 year, $2.8 million) and others settled for. Dangerous as he still is, even Peterson only got a touch more than $5 million for another two years in Washington. Aside from Bell and maybe Ingram, one may literally be better off — financially and, certainly, physically — being a kicker or punter.

Deshaun Watson: Houston's quarterback was bludgeoned for 62 sacks in 2018, more than any passer had been subjected to since 2006. Admittedly, Watson could help himself by getting rid of the ball when there's no play to make. But surely it wouldn't have been too much to ask (or pay) for Matt Paradis or Rodger Saffold or Daryl Williams, right?

Anthony Barr: Let's hope the Vikings linebacker has peace of mind after reneging on the Jets to take less money to stay in Minnesota and remain in a system that will probably never truly showcase his ability.

Ravens defense: New GM Eric DeCosta has worked in Baltimore for two decades, but this is the first free agency class with his name fully attached to it. He plainly didn't overpay for Ingram, though didn't rookie Gus Edwards look more than comfortable as the lead back last season? But DeCosta's decision to dismantle the league's top-ranked defense was the true head scratcher. Parting with veterans like OLB Terrell Suggs and S Eric Weddle or opting not to pay players entering their primes — Mosley and Za'Darius Smith — all seem like perfectly reasonable choices on a case-by-case basis. But the collective loss appears staggering even with Thomas coming aboard. This secondary is elite, but the front seven appears slightly suspect entering draft season.

Ryan Tannehill: His new Dolphins bosses clearly don't think much of the quarterback, yet also haven't been willing to grant Tannehill's freedom even while unsuccessfully trying to lure Teddy Bridgewater home to Miami. (UPDATE: Tannehill was traded to the Titans on Friday.)

Colts fans: Don't misinterpret this as a dig at Indianapolis GM Chris Ballard, who's resurrected this franchise into a Super Bowl contender despite effectively lacking a head coach and quarterback just 13 months ago. However after entering free agency with a salary cap war chest exceeding $100 million, the fan base can be forgiven for hoping for more than the retention of CB Pierre Desir and addition of WR Devin Funchess.

NFL sportswriters: A flurry of activity began before the negotiating window even opened Monday. Brown's switch to the Raiders surfaced just as daylight savings' lost hour was kicking in early Sunday morning. Bell's deal also came down after midnight ET. Complaint? Nah. Just denoting this one goes into the "L" column.

Ball So Hard University: Welp. Its main campus in Baltimore seemed permanent after being established in 2003. Alas, school president Suggs was expelled and can only hope a satellite branch takes root in the greater Phoenix area. On a positive note, BSHU was not stained by the seismic college bribery scandal, unlike slightly more prominent institutions, including USC, Wake Forest and Texas.

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